1. Technical Field
The present inventions relate to server assisted applications on clients and, more particularly, relate to encoders and decoders for applications on clients and servers.
2. Description of the Related Art
Vast libraries of video content can be accessed by browsing to internet sites such as YouTube or Hulu, or alternatively, the latest information or live events may be broadcast from other internet sites specializing in real-time streaming. However, once video content is selected, the viewing experience has remained relatively unchanged. Whether the video is rendered to a sub-window of a web browser or other media playback tool, or displayed fullscreen on a computer or dedicated television display, very little interactivity is permitted between the streaming source and the client receiver and display device. Typically, interactive requests are usually limited to the well-known VCR trick modes such as pause, fast-forward, fast-reverse, and slow motion. Alternatively, the user may interject a request to access a different portion of the same program or to switch to a different program altogether. This can be contrasted with the more interactive applications such as web browsing. Such applications are optimized for use with user input devices such as a touch screen, touch pad, or the traditional desktop mouse and keyboard. For example, means for optimizing and customizing the presentation of content are often embedded in the content itself, and may take the form of Javascript executable software. In response to user input, the client application will automatically request and download additional information if needed by forwarding requests to various internet servers.